Monday, February 15, 2016

Hatching Evil Plots

Monday, February 15, 2016


Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.  They have no fear of God at all. 
In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.  Everything they say is crooked and deceitful.  They refuse to act wisely or do good.  They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots.  Their actions are never good.  They make no attempt to turn from evil.  Psalm 36:1-4(NLT)

I’m not certain how this evil monster got into our family.  It might have had something to do with how incredibly adorable she was as a fluffy puppy.  Saami, our Alaskan Malamute (named for the Saami Native American people of Alaska) was a shameless thief.  About 30 years ago this food-pilfering mutt wedged her way into our hearts, and our kitchen. 

Sometimes (because she didn’t know she was 90 pounds of muscle and fur) she wound up on the laps of visiting friends and family.

Sometimes we ignored her wayward tendencies concerning food, because she was so adorable; mostly it was because she was really good at her silent thieving ways.  We discovered how shameless our little thief was when Elizabeth’s father Tony was visiting one time. 

Tony was a midnight-snacker.  On this particular visit he had brought all the makings of a record sandwich; the kind Ripley’s Believe-It-or-Not would have listed in their book.   When he finished constructing his masterpiece, he turned from the counter to grab his coffee cup, and when he turned back to pick up his plate, his midnight repast was just a memory.

Saami never admitted to the crime, but the mustard on her whiskers was evidence enough to ban her from the kitchen area!

We also suspect our son Jason had something to do with Saami’s life of crime.  (This is one of those things you don’t find out when your children are still teenagers, but comes out in conversation years later).  It seems Jason’s idea of fun was holding up a piece of bologna to catch Saami’s attention, and then throwing it against the sliding glass doors; of course it would stick, and the game was on.  All three of our kids would watch, howling with laughter, as a Malamute, in hot pursuit of meat, tried to eat the door, or wall.

Life is never too dull at a parsonage with teenagers!  I miss those days.

The Psalmist said sin whispers to the wicked, deep in their hearts.  And so I conclude that in our culture there’s an awful lot of nights spent devising plans to hatch sinful plots. 

But the truth is...God has it under control. 

For You Today


Let’s end today with hearing the rest of what the Psalmist had to say:

 Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.  Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths.  You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.  How precious is your unfailing love, O God!  All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.  You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights.  For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.  Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you; give justice to those with honest hearts.  Don’t let the proud trample me or the wicked push me around.  Look!  Those who do evil have fallen!  They are thrown down, never to rise again.  Psalm 36:5-12(NLT)

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!



[1] Images:  Title:  Saami 1990, and #2 - Saami with Mom

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